Pet house cats kill millions of songbirds in the United States every year. What's the best way to keep a cat from killing birds? Keep it in the house.When dropped off in the country or left to fend for themselves on farms, house cats become wild. Wild house cats are one of Minnesota's most common predators.http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/young_naturalists/wildcats/index.html">ht tp://www.dnr.state.mn.us/young_naturalists/wildcats/index.html

It's true; they kill for entertainment what other predators require for survival. Development is a bigger concern but reduction of food supply hurts the wildlife trying to make it in the burbs.

TheManMythLegend:A few years ago I was snowmobiling in the arrowhead of Minnesota near Lutsen and I came upon a wolf on the trail. Followed him for a few hundred yards then thought well his heart is going to explode if this keeps up so I sped up to go around him and right as I was beside him I glanced over and he showed his fangs then jumped sidways in the woods. It was one of the coolest things I ever saw. We wer probably less than a two feet from each other at one point. The next bend I went around though were a mother and child whitetail walking down the trail so I guess I ruined that guys lunch.

Last November a buddy and I were set up on an unnamed lake out in the bush on a caribou hunt. It was cold - damn cold - but there were tracks everywhere and we knew it was just a matter of time before the herd passed through on the way to forage.

We waited for 5 hours, freezing our nards off, before I saw a slight movement in the brush. Put the glass on it and saw a wolf watching us with an expression *exactly* like a classic troll face. I could almost hear it thinking " You mad Bro's?"

We packed up and headed home. That caribou herd was long gone if the wolves were around.

Pet house cats kill millions of songbirds in the United States every year. What's the best way to keep a cat from killing birds? Keep it in the house.When dropped off in the country or left to fend for themselves on farms, house cats become wild. Wild house cats are one of Minnesota's most common predators.http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/young_naturalists/wildcats/index.html">ht tp://www.dnr.state.mn.us/young_naturalists/wildcats/index.html

Carn:TheManMythLegend: Kibbler: CSB: I went to a friend's house a few years ago. As I pulled up, I saw a fox trot across his lawn, and the street, and then into a neighbor's lawn. I told him about it, because they had an outdoor cat. "You might want to keep him inside for a while." He half-grinned and made it clear he didn't believe I'd seen a fox. A couple hours later, we were heading out, and the first thing he saw when he stepped out the door was the same fox.

"Oh. I guess you did see a fox."

Booyah!

/now the things are everywhere

The cat is probably a bigger threat to the Fox than the other way around, domestic cats that are let outside wreak havoc on local ecosystems. They have all their shots and are well fed so they kill much of the food the wildlife would otherwise catch.

That is such horseshiat. Our house had a cornfield behind it when I was little. We'd occasionally find the carcasses of stray cats back there that had been found and eaten by coyotes. Never once seen a cat trotting around with a higher predator in it's mouth.

That's how my family cat went. She never strayed far from the property and had all her shots. Hardly a stray. We found her collar and tufts of her fur (long haired siamese) about 1/4 mile away. Most likely it was the coyotes.

TheManMythLegend:Kibbler: CSB: I went to a friend's house a few years ago. As I pulled up, I saw a fox trot across his lawn, and the street, and then into a neighbor's lawn. I told him about it, because they had an outdoor cat. "You might want to keep him inside for a while." He half-grinned and made it clear he didn't believe I'd seen a fox. A couple hours later, we were heading out, and the first thing he saw when he stepped out the door was the same fox.

"Oh. I guess you did see a fox."

Booyah!

/now the things are everywhere

The cat is probably a bigger threat to the Fox than the other way around, domestic cats that are let outside wreak havoc on local ecosystems. They have all their shots and are well fed so they kill much of the food the wildlife would otherwise catch.

That is such horseshiat. Our house had a cornfield behind it when I was little. We'd occasionally find the carcasses of stray cats back there that had been found and eaten by coyotes. Never once seen a cat trotting around with a higher predator in it's mouth.

TheManMythLegend:The Voice of Doom: EurotripIt's true; they kill for entertainment what other predators require for survival.

But do the well-fed housecats actually eat what they kill?Because there's a chance that the dead, slightly-nibbled-at songbird becomes a free meal for someone else.Well, assuming the dead, slightly-nibbled-at songbird doesn't end up under your bed or behind the sofa.

Most don't because they are already full of hi vitamine food from home.

Unless the animal is a scavenger predators won't eat things already dead. Dead things have a lot of disieases and maggots etc.

Strik3r:TheManMythLegend: Carn: TheManMythLegend: Kibbler: CSB: I went to a friend's house a few years ago. As I pulled up, I saw a fox trot across his lawn, and the street, and then into a neighbor's lawn. I told him about it, because they had an outdoor cat. "You might want to keep him inside for a while." He half-grinned and made it clear he didn't believe I'd seen a fox. A couple hours later, we were heading out, and the first thing he saw when he stepped out the door was the same fox.

"Oh. I guess you did see a fox."

Booyah!

/now the things are everywhere

The cat is probably a bigger threat to the Fox than the other way around,

That is such horseshiat. Our house had a cornfield behind it when I was little. We'd occasionally find the carcasses of stray cats back there that had been found and eaten by coyotes. Never once seen a cat trotting around with a higher predator in it's mouth.

I'm not saying they attack other predetors but domestoic cats that are well fed kill food that would otherwise be eaten by the wildlife. Lowering the amount of wildlife the environment can sustain.

cats might eat mice and small rodents in your yard. Unless you are hoarding cats, that's not enough to impact any predators higher in the chain. Most higher predators won't be doing alot of hunting in your yard. If they do, they're more likely to eat your healthy , well fed, and very tastey cat.

We have hawks. Domestic kitty=mealtime for hawk. So when Fluffy pops out into to open to chase down a mouse that would barely be a morsel for the hawk...as you say, it's kinda like Chinese food for raptors.

fireclown:On his seventieth birthday, my father was out on his motorcycle and hit a buzzard with his helmet. Killed the buzzard deader than disco. No pics of the collision, but somewhere around here we have a pic of a helmet with the birds blood on it.

/best I can do.// yeah. my dad is a badass.

My last bike had a dent in the tank from a farking buzzard hitting it.

TheManMythLegend:Carn: TheManMythLegend: Kibbler: CSB: I went to a friend's house a few years ago. As I pulled up, I saw a fox trot across his lawn, and the street, and then into a neighbor's lawn. I told him about it, because they had an outdoor cat. "You might want to keep him inside for a while." He half-grinned and made it clear he didn't believe I'd seen a fox. A couple hours later, we were heading out, and the first thing he saw when he stepped out the door was the same fox.

"Oh. I guess you did see a fox."

Booyah!

/now the things are everywhere

The cat is probably a bigger threat to the Fox than the other way around, domestic cats that are let outside wreak havoc on local ecosystems. They have all their shots and are well fed so they kill much of the food the wildlife would otherwise catch.

That is such horseshiat. Our house had a cornfield behind it when I was little. We'd occasionally find the carcasses of stray cats back there that had been found and eaten by coyotes. Never once seen a cat trotting around with a higher predator in it's mouth.

I'm not saying they attack other predetors but domestoic cats that are well fed kill food that would otherwise be eaten by the wildlife. Lowering the amount of wildlife the environment can sustain.

BS

cats might eat mice and small rodents in your yard. Unless you are hoarding cats, that's not enough to impact any predators higher in the chain. Most higher predators won't be doing alot of hunting in your yard. If they do, they're more likely to eat your healthy , well fed, and very tastey cat.

Carn:TheManMythLegend: Kibbler: CSB: I went to a friend's house a few years ago. As I pulled up, I saw a fox trot across his lawn, and the street, and then into a neighbor's lawn. I told him about it, because they had an outdoor cat. "You might want to keep him inside for a while." He half-grinned and made it clear he didn't believe I'd seen a fox. A couple hours later, we were heading out, and the first thing he saw when he stepped out the door was the same fox.

"Oh. I guess you did see a fox."

Booyah!

/now the things are everywhere

The cat is probably a bigger threat to the Fox than the other way around, domestic cats that are let outside wreak havoc on local ecosystems. They have all their shots and are well fed so they kill much of the food the wildlife would otherwise catch.

That is such horseshiat. Our house had a cornfield behind it when I was little. We'd occasionally find the carcasses of stray cats back there that had been found and eaten by coyotes. Never once seen a cat trotting around with a higher predator in it's mouth.

I'm not saying they attack other predetors but domestoic cats that are well fed kill food that would otherwise be eaten by the wildlife. Lowering the amount of wildlife the environment can sustain.

The_Original_Roxtar:dogs hate motorcycles... so much so that the safety booklets that come with new motorcycles give tips on how to dodge a dog that is coming at you.

They dont like pedal bikes either. When I was a kid there were a couple nasty dogs around we had to avoid. If you wanted to go to the local convenience store you had 2 choices...go the long way, or "make the run". Making the run involved taking a short cut through the woods (kids used to go in the woods, without adults) on the trails, one of which let out near the store...and right across the street from a house with 2 good sized dogs, both of which didnt like the bikes. We would come out of the woods, walk our bikes around a fence, then jump on and ride for all we had, as the dogs came running after us. The day we heard one of them had been hit by a car and killed was a joyous day for us. After that the other one didnt leave the front yard.

Habitual Cynic:That said, the biker was a foolish twit, risking his life, the wolf's life, and the lives of unknown others who might be innocently driving down that road, just for the sake of a photo. Shame.

Ever drive in the city or burbs? Every other frickin car is texting while shaving or putting on make up. And that's just the cars. You should see what the people are doing.

TheManMythLegend:The cat is probably a bigger threat to the Fox than the other way around, domestic cats that are let outside wreak havoc on local ecosystems. They have all their shots and are well fed so they kill much of the food the wildlife would otherwise catch.

No way.....

In my neighborhood, we have foxes, lynx, wolves (or coyotes there is a diff, but I'm not that familiar with it) and even an occasional bear. Cats don't last long around here. It is probably the lynx since they seem to be the most prevalent.

/you could be right in some environments, but domesticated animals are in NO WAY prepared to deal with the harsh realities of living in the wild.

Habitual Cynic:Don't miss the real point here: When wild animals become acclimated to humans and view them as a source of free food, it never works out well for the animal. People have been feeding this wolf. Humans now represent an easy hand-out. The wolf does what wolves do--it goes for the most easily caught food. That said, the biker was a foolish twit, risking his life, the wolf's life, and the lives of unknown others who might be innocently driving down that road, just for the sake of a photo. Shame.

And yet at national parks, it's pretty common to see people feeding them even right in front of signs that say not to. They think it's so cute to feed them, but they don't quite seem to get why it's a bad idea.

A few years ago I was snowmobiling in the arrowhead of Minnesota near Lutsen and I came upon a wolf on the trail. Followed him for a few hundred yards then thought well his heart is going to explode if this keeps up so I sped up to go around him and right as I was beside him I glanced over and he showed his fangs then jumped sidways in the woods. It was one of the coolest things I ever saw. We wer probably less than a two feet from each other at one point. The next bend I went around though were a mother and child whitetail walking down the trail so I guess I ruined that guys lunch.

SlothB77:that is a pretty good pic considering he was on a bike, being chased by a wolf and trying to take a picture behind him. i kinda want to see the rest, not just that one, though i know they will be a blurry mess.

The rest probably is a pile of splintered plastic parts and twisted metal. From wiggling the handlebars once too often turning around to get the photo.

Habitual Cynic:Don't miss the real point here: When wild animals become acclimated to humans and view them as a source of free food, it never works out well for the animal. People have been feeding this wolf. Humans now represent an easy hand-out. The wolf does what wolves do--it goes for the most easily caught food. That said, the biker was a foolish twit, risking his life, the wolf's life, and the lives of unknown others who might be innocently driving down that road, just for the sake of a photo. Shame.

Don't miss the real point here: When wild animals become acclimated to humans and view them as a source of free food, it never works out well for the animal. People have been feeding this wolf. Humans now represent an easy hand-out. The wolf does what wolves do--it goes for the most easily caught food. That said, the biker was a foolish twit, risking his life, the wolf's life, and the lives of unknown others who might be innocently driving down that road, just for the sake of a photo. Shame.

CSB: I went to a friend's house a few years ago. As I pulled up, I saw a fox trot across his lawn, and the street, and then into a neighbor's lawn. I told him about it, because they had an outdoor cat. "You might want to keep him inside for a while." He half-grinned and made it clear he didn't believe I'd seen a fox. A couple hours later, we were heading out, and the first thing he saw when he stepped out the door was the same fox.

On his seventieth birthday, my father was out on his motorcycle and hit a buzzard with his helmet. Killed the buzzard deader than disco. No pics of the collision, but somewhere around here we have a pic of a helmet with the birds blood on it.

that is a pretty good pic considering he was on a bike, being chased by a wolf and trying to take a picture behind him. i kinda want to see the rest, not just that one, though i know they will be a blurry mess.